Corn husking machine

ABSTRACT

A corn husking machine having one or more sets of oppositely rotating husking rolls. The ears are caused to move along the rolls while the husks are being removed. One roll is made longer than the other at the discharge end of the machine whereby plugging or jamming is eliminated or greatly minimized.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,329,768 9/1943 Kerr l30/56 3,324,859 6/1967 Bossard........................ 130/5 PrimaryExaminerAntonio F. Guida Attorney-Flehr, Hohbach, Test, Albritton &Herbert ABSTRACT: A com husking machine having one or more sets ofoppositely rotating husking rolls. The cars are caused to Inventor Floyd0. Fedderly Toppenish, Wash.

Appl. No 810,756

Mar. 26, 1969 [45] Patented July 13, 1971 Assignee Del Monte CorporationSan Francisco, Calif.

3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

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[52] U.S.Cl. [5!] Int. CL....... [50] Field of PATENTEDJULI 319713,592,200

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ATTORNEYS CORN HUSKING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION One type ofcorn husking machine which has been used commercially employs one ormore sets of husking rolls disposed side by side and rotated in oppositedirections. The cars of corn are delivered into the V between the uppersides of the rolls and are subjected to removal of husks by the actionof the rolls while the ears progress along the rolls from the feed tothe discharge end of the machine. At the discharge end of the machinethe ears drop over the ends of the rolls and the adjacent roll bearinghousings. Progression of the ears along the rolls can be ensured by suchexpedients as sloping the rolls toward their discharge ends, byproviding helicoidal ribs on the rolls which tend to urge lthe earstoward the discharge ends, or by providing positive: means forpropelling the ears. It has been found that such machines are subject toplugging or jamming at the discharge ends of the rolls. According to ourobservations this is due to accumulations of husk and stock between thehousings of the roll bearings. Such accumulations interfere with properprogression of the ears along the rolls and with proper husking action.When a machine is plugged or jammed in this fashion the accumulationsmust be removed by hand, and ears which have been prevented fromproperly progressing along the rolls must be rehusked.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND OBJECTS This invention relates generally tocorn husking machines and particularly to machines making use of one ormore sets of husking rolls along which the ears of corn are caused toprogress. I

In general it is an object of the invention to provide an improved cornhusker which will solve the plugging or jamming problem referred toabove.

Another object of the invention is to provide a corn husker having anovel arrangement at the discharge ends of the rolls, the arrangementmaking it impossible for husks and stock to become jammed between thebearing hdusings. The invention is characterized by the fact that at thedischarge ends one of the rolls is longer than the other, wherebyplugging between the bearing housings is avoided. I

Additional objects and features of the invention will appear from thefollowing description in which the preferred embodiment has been setforth in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a schematic side elevationalview ofa corn husking machine.

FIG. 2 is a detail view taken as indicated by line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a detail looking toward the discharge end of the machine andshowing the means for supporting the bearing housings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 illustrates a cornhusking machine which is conven' tional except for the incorporation ofmy improvement. Such a machine can consist ofa base frame and housing11. The ears after husking are discharged from the right-hand end 12 ofthe machine, and they are fed into the housing 11 at the left'hand endof the machine. Mounted within the base frame there are at least one andusually two pairs or sets of husking rolls. These husking rolls extendfrom the reed end of the machine to the discharge end, and at their feedends their shafts are connected with suitable drive means whereby therolls of each pair are driven in opposite directions. Ears to be huskedare delivered upon the upper orfeed ends of the rolls and are caused tomove longitudinally of the rolls within the upper until they reach thelower or discharge ends.

While being progressed along the rolls, the husks are engaged andstripped from the ears. Preliminary to feeding the ears to the machine,the butt ends are removed by a suitable cutting machine.

In accordance with the present invention the disposition of the huskingrolls and the action of the husking rolls upon the ears of corn is thesame as in prior machines. However, at the discharge ends of the rolls,one roll of each set. is made longer than the other, and the housings ofthe bearing assemblies are preferably disposed in such a manner thatplugging or amming cannot occur.

The improvement described above is shown particularly in FIGS. 2 and 3.FIG. 2 illustrates two sets of husking rolls, each set comprising therolls l6 and 17. As shown in FIG. 3, the axis of each roll 16 ispreferably somewhat higher than the axis of roll 17 whereby with theperipheries of the two rolls in contact they appear to be slightlyoverlapping as viewed in plan. Contrary to conventional practice, theroll 16 of each set is made longer than the roll I7. In FIG. 2 theextended portion of each roll 16 is designated 16a. In many instances ithas been found desirable to extend both the rolls l6 and 17 at thedischarge end of the machine, thus providing additional husking timeupon the rolls while the ears are progressing to the discharge ends.When it is desired to extend both rolls, a roll section 17a can beattached to the roll 17, but this section 17b is considerably shorterthan the extension 16a.

In addition to providing an extension whereby one roll is longer thanthe other, I provide improved means for supporting the adjacent bearinghousings for the rolls. Thus a support means 18 is provided which iscarried to the side frame members 19 of the machine. This bearingsupport means consists of an upper transverse member 21 which isattached at its ends to the depending side members 22. A lower andshorter transverse member 23 is secured to the lower end of a web 24which in turn is secured to member 21. The lower end portions of theside members 22 are provided with shoulders 26 which serve to seat thebearing housings 27. These housings are held in proper working positionby the overlying tabs 28. The housings 27 provide bearings for the studshafts 29 that extend from the ends of the rolls 16. The blocks 27 arepermitted some movement relative to the side members 22, and they arespring urged toward the rolls 17. For this purpose I have indicatedsuitable spring assemblies, each including a spring retention pin 31 anda compression spring 32.

Bearing housings 33 are likewise provided for the stud shafts 34 thatextend from the ends of the rolls 17. These housings seat upon theshoulder surfaces 36 that are provided on the ends of member 23, andthey are retained by the overlying tabs 37. A discharge chute 39 in theform of an inclined plate is shown extending between the lower ends ofthe side members 22 and is arranged to receive ears which are dischargedfrom the rolls. Aprons 38 and 39 can be provided to retain the ears inproper husking relationship with the rolls.

As previously explained, the upper ends of the rolls are connected tosuitable drive means whereby the rolls of each pair are driven inopposite directions. The driving is such that the upper side of eachroll of a pair turns inwardly with respect to the other roll. Ears ofcorn delivered into the feed end of the machine are deposited upon therolls near their upper ends and are caused to be oriented with theiraxes extending parallel to the axes of the rolls. Each ear is disposedwithin the upwardly faced V" between the rolls and is acted upon by thehusking rolls to remove the husks. By the time the ears reach the lowerends of the rolls, all of the husks should be removed. It will beapparent from FIG. 2 that at the discharge ends of the rolls each ear iscaused to discharge over the inner side of the roll extension 16a andover the adjacent bearing housing 33 of the adjacent roll 17. There isno tendency for husk to become plugged between the bearing housings 27and 33, particularly because these blocks are spaced a substantialdistance apart, and the support means for the bearing housings does notblock discharging ears and other material. In this connection it will benoted that the members 22 for supporting the bearing housings 27 extendupwardly, while the member 23 extends inwardly of the bearing housings33.

In general my machine is capable of operating over long periods of timewithout becoming jammed or plugged, thus eliminating the manual laborrequired with conventional machines for unplugging, and avoiding orminimizing rehusking operations.

I claim:

1. In a corn husking machine of the type having a set of husking rollsdisposed side by side and adapted to be rotated in opposite directionswhereby an ear of corn disposed on the rolls is subjected to removal ofhusks while progressing longitudinally of the rolls to the dischargeends thereof, the improvement comprising providing one roll of the setwith an end portion which extends beyond the corresponding end of theother roll whereby discharging ears are delivered off that side of theend portion which faces the shorter roll, together with hearing housingsfor the discharge ends of each of the rolls, said bearing housings beingspaced apart in a direction longitudinally of the rolls, and means forsupporting said housmgs.

2. A com husking machine as in claim 1 in which the axis of rotation ofone roll is elevated with respect to the axis of rotation of the otherroll, whereby the peripheries of the rolls are overlapping as viewed inplan, the end portion being on the more elevated roll.

3. A corn husking machine as in claim 1 in which the supporting meansfor the bearing housings provides unobstructed space above the bearinghousing for the shorter roll whereby ears may discharge over the same.

1. In a corn husking machine of the type having a set of husking rollsdisposed side by side and adapted to be rotated in opposite directionswhereby an ear of corn disposed on the rolls is subjected to removal ofhusks while progressing longitudinally of the rolls to the dischargeends thereof, the improvement comprising providing one roll of the setwith an end portion which extends beyond the corresponding end of theother roll whereby discharging ears are delivered off that side of theend portion which faces the shorter roll, together with bearing housingsfor the discharge ends of each of the rolls, said bearing housings beingspaced apart in a direction longitudinally of the rolls, and means forsupporting said housings.
 2. A corn husking machine as in claim 1 inwhich the axis of rotation of one roll is elevated with respect to theaxis of rotation of the other roll, whereby the peripheries of the rollsare overlapping as viewed in plan, the end portion being on the moreelevated roll.
 3. A corn husking machine as in claim 1 in which thesupporting means for the bearing housings provides unobstructed spaceabove the bearing housing for the shorter roll whereby ears maydischarge over the same.